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VIKW IN PETTIBONE PARK 



THE MAKING 

of a 

Park System in La Crosse 



REPORT 

hy 
JOHN NOLEN, Landscape Architect 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 
1911 




THE INLAND PRINTING COMPANY 



La Crosse, Wisconsin 



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Xa (Trosse :: 'Wisconsin 



J. M. HIXON, Chairman 

L. F. EASTON 

E. L. COLMAN 

HENRY GUND 

FRED SCHNELL, Secretary 



JOHN NOLEN, Landscape Architect 
JOHN H. FORRER, Park Superintendent 



"parks 



"The life history of humanity has proved 
nothing more clearly than that crowded popula- 
tions, if they would lice in health and happiness, 
must have space for air, for light, for exercise, 
for rest, and for the enjoyment of that peaceful 
beauty of nature which, because it is the opposite 
of the noisy ugliness of towns, is so wonderfully 
refreshing to the tired souls of towns-people." 
— Charles Eliot. 



"In scarcely anything to be determined by 
local public opinion acting influentially upon 
local legislation and administration, is a city 
likely to be so much made or marred for all its 
future as in proceedings in prosecution of a park 
project. 

"For every thousand dollars judiciously in- 
vested in a park the dividends to the second gen- 
eration of the citizens possessing it will be much 
larger than to the first, the dividends to the third 
generation much larger than the second. 

"That those in charge of a park Work ^oy 
proceed economically; they must be able to pro- 
ceed with confidence, method, and system, stead- 
ily, step after step, to carry to completion a Well- 
matured design. " — Frederick Law Olmstead. 



"plaits anb iDrawings 



1. Bird's Eye View of Levee Park. 

2. General Plan for Levee Park. 

3. General Plan for Copeland Park. 

4. General Plan for West Avenue Playfield. 

5. General Plan for Adams Street Playground. 

6. General Plan for a City Park System for La Crosse. 



THE MAKING OF A PARK 
SYSTEM IN LA CROSSE. 

No better illustration could he given of the making of a park 
system by a small city than the recent experience of La Crosse. It 
should be recalled that three years ago it had not even a park 
commission, and it is less than two years since the actual work of 
park construction was begun. Yet it has to-day the substantial 
framework of a comprehensive park system that is equalled Ijy few 
cities, if any, of the same size. This achievement is so notable and 
the steps ])y which it has been brought about are so little known, 
even to many of the citizens of La Crosse, that I believe it worth 
while to re^'iew l)riefly the methods that have l:)een used, to describe 
the general character of the j^arks and playgrounds themselves and 
to draw certain conclusions that seem justified liy the first year's 
work of the La Crosse Park Commission. 

Pettibone Park Was the Beginning. 

The loeginning of parks in La Crosse is to be found in Pettibone 
Park, a naturally beautiful Island in the Mississippi River, directly 
opposite the business section of the city, but unfortunately situated 
within the boundaries of the State of Minnesota. Established in 
1890 as a public pleasure ground, through the generosity of Mr. 
A. W. Pettibone, this Island Park at first supplied the demand for 
public parks and then created an insistent demand for more. 
Never a city park in a complete sense, it has, nevertheless, always 
been open to the free use of the people. Its administration is 
vested in a special park board,* appointed by Mr. Pettibone and 
the funds for the acquisition of the land, for construction and for 
maintenance have been provided by the same generous and public- 
spirited individual. He has placed in the hands of the aforesaid 
Park Board the sum of 150,000, the income from which is to be 
used in the proper maintenance of the park. Pettibone Park 



*The present members are: J. M. Hixon, President; F. P. Hixon, Vice- 
President; Geo. H. Gordon, Sec'y. ; G. W. Burton, Treasurer; E. L. Colman; 
Mayor John Dengler. 

Eleven 





GRANDAD BLUFF AND PROPOSED COULEE PARK 



contains about two hundred acres. It has an exceedingly irregular 
shore line, picturesque and beautiful lagoons; and if properly de- 
veloped might easily rival the famous Belle Isle Park of Detroit. 
Indeed, the views of River scenery are much finer than those from 
Belle Isle. But to make Pettibone Park a thoroughly satisfactory 
recreation ground, it should l^e raised securely above the high water 
of the Mississippi River and the control and jurisdiction of the 
Island transferred l)y the Legislature of Minnesota to the City 
of La Crosse. 

Yet, after all, Pettibone Park only prepared the way. The 
real beginning was made when the Common Council of La Crosse 
on May 15, 1908, passed the ordinance creating two park districts 
and establishing a Board of Park Commissioners. By this ordinance 
a non-political, unpaid commission of four memljers was provided 
for. These Commissioners were to be appointed by the Mayor, 
subject to the approval of the Common Council. Acting in accord- 
ance with this ordinance, ^layor Wendell A. Anderson, whose 
splendid services for parks and the welfare of the city generally, 
cannot be overestimated, appointed as the first Board of Park 
Commissioners, J. M. Hixon, L. F. Easton, E. L. Colman, and 
Henry Gund, — all men of public spirit, high standing and great 
ability. 

Landscape Architect Engaged. 

The next step was the selection by the Board of a landscape 
architect as its expert adviser and the arrangement soon after for 
a public mass meeting to present to the general public the tentative 
plans for a park system and the reasons for such a system in a city 
like La Crosse. The meeting was held in the Opera House. The 
arrangements were unusually well made, the local newspapers 
co-operating heartily and as a result a large and representative 
audience completely filled the Hall. The Mayor presided. The 
speakers pointed out that in nothing is the welfare of a city so 
permanently influenced as in the selection of sites for parks and the 
construction of an adequate system of play and pleasure grounds. 
A park system, it was said, should be comprehensive, including city 
squares, equipped and supervised playgrounds, small and large 
parks and scenic reservations, all connected, one with another, by 
parkways or l^oulevards. And to be adequate, such a system should 
not only meet the demands of all classes of the people in all parts 
of the city to-day, l)ut should reasonalily anticipate the needs of 
the future. The contribution that parks make to pleasure, to health 

Thirtf en 





MAIN STREET SQUARE BEFORE AND AFTER IMPROVEMENT 



and, l)oth directly and indirectly, to the prosperity of cities was 
illustrated by the experience of other places. The four conclusions 
to which the addresses of the evening pointed definitely were: 
(1) That Park lands for the City of La Crosse would never again 
])e so cheap; (2) That once acquired, they would steadily increase 
in value; (3) That the experience of every city that has judiciously 
undertaken park improvements had demonstrated that they pay 
for themselves *; (4) That the adoption of a permanent park policy 
is more than likely to bring rich gifts of land and money for park 
purposes. Of the general soundness of these views, the audience 
was convinced, and at the conclusion of the meeting, the following 
resolutions were unanimously adopted: 

Massmeeting Adopts Resolutions. 

"Whereas, The City of La Crosse is in neetl of greater park 
privileges and facilities and is admirably adapted by situation and 
natural advantages for the carrying out of a general plan for the 
establishment of a comprehensive park system, 

"Now Therefore, Be it resolved by the citizens of La 
Crosse in mass meeting assembled this 18th day of November, 
1908, that we are in favor of the adoption and execution of a plan 
of park improvement which will tend to beautify our city and minis- 
ter to the comfort and pleasure of all our citizens. And be it further 

"Resolved, That we indorse the steps already taken in 
this direction by the appointment of a park commission and 
heartily approve the proposed action of the Common Councill in 
levying a one mill tax to be set apart and expended under the 
direction of the park commission for park purposes, and pledge 
our support to all future efforts and actions of the commission and 
common council for the accomplishment of these purposes. And 
be it further 

"Resolved, that our thanks be and are hereby extended to 
Mr. .John Nolen for his able, interesting and instructive lecture 
and to the park commission for its efforts in })roviding for this 
opjjortunity to hear tlie same. And be it further 

"Resolved, That these resolutions be transmitted to the 
common council of the city of La Crosse and a coj)y thereof to the 



*The conclusion of a citizens' committee appointed by the Madison City 
Council, was that from 10 to 1.5 per cent of the increase of real estate values 
within that city since 189:^ was due to the park and drive work. This would 
mean an annual income to the City from taxes of more than twenty thousand 
dollars. See "Madison Parks as a Municipal Investment." 

Fifteen 




PETIIBONE PARK LAGOON 



park commission and to the daily and weekly newsjxxpers pul> 
lished in the city. And be it further 

"Resolved, That we are in favor of issuing bonds in such 
amounts as may he. necessary to carry out the recommendations of 
the park commission." 

Tax Levied for Park Purposes. 

At a meeting of the Council held a few days later, this enthu- 
siastic action of the people was confirmed by the levying of a one 
mill tax for parks and later by the issuing of bonds for seventy- 
five thousand dollars for the purchase of land and for the necessary 
construction. Thus in six months the work of park making in 
La Crosse was successfully inaugurated. 

It requires but a brief residence in La Crosse to see that the 
methods of procedure followed in beginning the park work were 
not different from the methods which the city had already followed 
in other matters. In paving its business and residence streets 
with an unusual degree of excellence, in placing all telegraph and 
telephone wires underground a decade ago, in hospitality to strangers 
and in other practical and progressive ways advancing the ci\ic 
life. La Crosse had already established an enviable reputation. 
Thus the park project followed approved and successful precedents 
and was not looked upon in any sense as an expei'iment. 

Sites Naturally Fitted for Parks. 

It w^as the aim of the Park Commission and its landscape 
adviser to select property that was naturally fitted for park use, 
that could be developed economically, that would reflect and pre- 
serve the characteristic and beautiful topogiaphical features of 
La Crosse, and that, when improved, would constitute a whole, 
each part having relation to every other part, and together form- 
ing a comprehensive, well-distributed system in which the needs 
of each section were adequately and fairly provided for. The 
situation of the City is remarkable and of great l)eauty. V\'ith one 
of the finest parts of the ^lississippi River on the west and a noble 
range of high and rugged bluffs on the east, it occupies a broad and 
fertile valley, offering an ideal site for both business and residence 
purposes*. The most striking ami characteristic natural features 
are, of course, the river and the bluffs. It was decided at once that 



*The valley extending from La Crosse to Salem, Bangor, Rockland, 
Sparta and beyond is a marvel of loveliness. 

Seventeen 





COPELAND PARK BEFORE 






COPELAND PARK AFTER 






LEVEE PARK BEFORE 



these should be inchided in the park pUms and that all the forms 
of recreation that river and bluffs make possible should be provided. 
The existing parks available as a nucleus for the new system 
were the two half blocks in the built-up section of the city, Myrick 
Park and Drive and the Losey Boulevard. After a great deal of 
investigation on the ground, supplemented by careful study and 
plan making, the following system of parks, parkways, squares 
and playgrounds was adopted: 

Park System for City of La Crosse. 

(1) Copeland Park. This is a tract of more than twenty 
acres in North La Crosse with a frontage of half a mile on the Black 
River, commanding some of the finest views of the ^linnesota 
bluffs. A wide promenade runs all along the water front and the 
plan for the park includes provision for many forms of active 
recreation and quieter relaxation. Its arrangement is in keeping 
with the best modern thought and practice, which show a tendency 
to make much greater use of our parks than heretofore. They are 
looked upon less and less as luxuries, as beautiful pictures merely 
for occasional holiday enjoyment; they have become an essential 
part of every day life in cities. While the making of Copeland 
Park called for extensive filling by dredging from the River, the cost 
of the property was relatively low and a very considerable area 
was presented as a gift to the City by My. F. A. Copeland, in recogni- 
tion of whose generosity and fine citizenship, the Park received 
its name. 

(2) Levee Park. This will contain about twelve acres and 
is happily situated at the natural water approach to the City and 
close to the business center. The plan for this Park is more orna- 
mental than Copeland Park. The water front will continue to l)e 
used for business purposes, but the undeveloped area between the 
River and the railroad tracks will be filled, improved and made 
available for recreation. 

Largest and Most Beautiful Park. 

(3) Grandad Bluff and Miller's Coulee. The Park which it 
is proposed to create at this point will be the largest and most beauti- 
ful in La Crosse. In fact, few cities have such an opportunity. 
Grandad Bluff is the highest in the neighborhood of La Crosse and 
rises majestically to a height of 1,172 feet. The Coulee which 
nestles in its side affords a type of scenery of great attractiveness. 
It is beautiful and restful, as well as adapted for a pleasure ground 

TwentvOne 







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53 



* """ "' GENERAL PLAN 

ADAMS STREET PLAVGROUND 

LACROSSE WIS 



WEST AVENUE AND ADAMS STREET PLAYFIELDS 



for city people as any that can be conceived. This property is 
only partially acquired but when completed, it will proV)ably in- 
clude over four hundred acres. It is as good an illustration of 
ready-made park as could be found, and except for road making, 
the cost of its improvement will he slight. 

(4) West Avenue Playfield. The acquisition of this three 
acre field at West Avenue and Jackson Street — more than a full 
city block in extent — illustrates the interest of the Park Commission 
in Playgrounds for the children. The entire area has been care- 
fully graded, improved, and planted, providing for all-the-year- 
round use, including field games and skating, and a small park-like 
area for the recreation of the children's parents. 

(5) Adams Street Playground. Although smaller in area, 
this property corresponds in character and development to the 
West Avenue Playfield. It provides for its neighborhood a good 
base-ball field and a place for skating in winter. The south end of 
the lot is to be furnished with sand gardens, swings, ladders, etc., 
for the smaller children. There is also room for a Playground 
Shelter Building which has been constructed in such a way as to 
permit of its use by the City as a voting booth. 

(6) Block at George and Livingstone Streets on the North 
Side. It is proposed to acquire and improve this block much after 
the manner of the Adams Street Playground. 

(7) La Plume Island. At present this Island is low and re- 
quires filling. When filled and improved, it will make for the South 
End of the City a park much like Pettilione Park. 

(8) Forty acres at the South End of West Avenue. This 
property is not imperatively needed l:)y the City for immediate 
use, but it is a valuable reservation for the future and illustrates 
the foresight of the Park Commission and its efforts to anticipate 
at least the most important needs of the period immediately 
ahead, for the City is growing rapidly toward the south. 

Plan to Double Size of Main Street Square. 

(9) Main Street Square. The City already owns one-half 
this Square. By purchasing the other half, which can still be had 
on reasonable terms, a splendid open space would be secured in the 
heart of the City, around which public and semi-public buildings 
could be placed. The Public Library, one of the public school 
buildings, the new Y. M. C. A., the Masonic Temple, and the Con- 
gregational Church now front on the half block. By extending 
it as proposed, the setting of all these buildings would be greatly 

Twenlv Three 





VIEWS OF PETTIBONE PARK 

COPYRIGHT BY GEO E MARINER 



improved and beautiful and appropriate sites would l^e ol)tained 

for as many more. There is no other property in the central 

part of the City which offers so good an opportunity and it 
should not be lost by delay. 

(10) Reservation on the Viaduct between North and South 
La Crosse. Such a property is now easily secured and would 
provide a park for the future at. a central situation. 

(11) Inter-State Fair Grounds. This tract of 37 acres is now 
owned by the City audit is proposed later to make it the principal 
athletic ground for the older boys and young men of the City. Here 
there is room for a very complete provision for all the field sports, 
tennis, etc. The location is admirable for the purpose. 

System of Parkways and Boulevards. 

(12) Parkways. It is proposed to connect all these parks, 
squares and praygrounds by a complete system of parkways and 
boulevards. Beginning, say, at the Levee Park, it would go out 
State to Seventh, north on Seventh across the Viaduct to Rose, 
to St. James, to Avon, to Clinton, to Kane, to Livingstone, to 
George, and to the City limits. Later the roads indicated on the 
general plan to the north, east, and south of the City would be im- 
proved so as to make a continuous circuit, bringing the traveller 
back to Seventh Street on the South Side, on to State Street, and 
to the Levee Park where the start was made. This circuit of fifteen 
miles might not be entirely free from some relatively common- 
place sections, yet most of it could easily be made very attractive. 
Even now a very large percentage affords views both near and far 
that could not be equalled by the best parkways in the larger 
cities. In addition to this Circuit, West Avenue, running north 
and south, and Cass street, east and west, should receive the atten- 
tion due to specially important thoroughfares. 

This Ijrief description is intended simply to draw attention to 
the main elements of the La Crosse Park System. Incidentally 
there followed also an improvement and extension of school grounds 
in which the Park Commission assisted. The general plan of the 
City, and the plans of the Parks and Playgrounds that accompany 
this report supplement the outline here given. Copeland Park, 
the West Avenue Playfield, and the Adams Street Playground are 
already completed and in use. The co-operation of the railroads 
has been a factor of importance. 

Twenty-Five 



Successful Methods Followed. 

The methods followed at La Crosse, a city of but 31,000 popu- 
lation, it should be remembered, have been so successful and the 
results so satisfactory that it is worth while to note the lessons which 
the experience gives as a guide for the future not only of La Crosse 
but of the many other small cities in the United States which are 
now in a position not unlike that which confronted La Crosse two 
years ago. 

The six points of most significance are: 

(1) The main reliance from the beginning was upon public 
action and public support. The people were taken in on the ground 
floor, so to speak, and made to feel that the work was not only to 
be for them, but was to be done by them. The Parks and Play- 
grounds were put in exactly the same class as the public school 
and the public library and in renewing the appropriation this year, 
the members of the City Council showed that they looked upon them 
in this way. In the case of La Crosse, and it should be the case 
elsewhere, generous public action has been supported and supple- 
mented by generous private action, the private gifts to the La Crosse 
Parks probably equalling the annual appropriations by the City. 

(2) The Park Commission has, from the start, applied the 
efficient methods of private business to the administration of this 
new city department and with similar good results. Each City 
dollar was expected to bring a full dollar's worth of work or material 
— and it did. 

(3) Before a step was taken toward execution, a complete 
general plan was prepared for all the parks and playgrounds in- 
cluded in the present system. This inspired public confidence in 
every part of the City. Too much emphasis cannot be given to 
beginning in this way. It not only wins confidence; it prevents 
mistakes and contributes to economy in many directions. 

Cost for Park System only Fifty Cents Per Capita. 

(4) The cost of these parks and playgrounds for La Crosse 
has not been heavy. The Council has issued twenty-year bonds 
for seventy-five thousand dollars and the one mill tax has yielded 
a little over twenty thousand dollars a year for two years. Against 
the bond issue, the City has an asset which will steadily increase 
in value and always be worth more than its cost. It is to be re- 
gretted that the law of Wisconsin limits all bond issues to twenty 
years. In the case of land purchase, it would seem that the law 

Twenty-Seven 



of Minnesota, which permits such issues to be for forty or fifty 
years, would be better for future as well as present generations, 
because it would lead to a more adequate and more economical 
provision for the futui'e. But even under the present law and the 
extra expenses inevitable during a period of heavy construction 
the annual cost has not exceeded fifty cents per capita. 

(5) Another conclusion justified by the experience of La 
Crosse, is the possibility, especially in the smaller places, of enlist- 
ing in the service of the community the most honoi'al)le and able 
men. If an unpaid Commission is created, free from political 
influence, under conditions that permit of a large pul)lic service, 
it will always be possible, as at La Crosse, to find qualified men to 
accept. These men have had a hand in a piece of constructive 
public work in which they can always take pride and they have 
won the gratitude of the people of their own city. 

(6) The final lesson of the La Crosse Parks is their effect 
upon the civic spirit of the entire community. There has been a 
noticeable quickening of civic pride and an awakening of interest 
in civic affairs which is worth all that these pid)lic improvements 
have cost in money and personal work. 




VIEW OF PROPOSED COULEE PARK 



Twenty Nine 



^n Acknowledgment 

It seems proper and fitting that there should accompany this 
report of Mr. Nolen's which will become a part of the written history 
of La Crosse, a record of the names of the loyal and generous citizens 
who have by gift assisted in the work of park building. May their 
personal satisfaction equal the pleasure their generosity will give to 
the thousands in years to come: The following gave their river front 
property which made Levee Park possible: 

J. J. HOGAN AND FAMILY W. W. CARGILL FAMILY 

G. A. KAEPPLER EMIL T. MUELLER 

S. B. OATMAN T. H. SPENCE 

S. Y. HYDE ISIDORE SCHILLING 

The following gentlemen subscribed the sum of forty-three thou- 
sand dollars to aid in the expense of making Levee Park: 
HENRY GUND F. P. HIXON 

L. C. COLMAN GEO. C. HIXON 

H. L. COLMAN L. F. EASTON 

E. L. COLMAN 

To aid in making a park on the North Side Mr. F. A. Copeland 
gave eight acres of land. 

A piece of land adjoining Myrick Park and necessary for continu- 
ing the drive and completing the shore line was given by L. F. Easton. 

Isle La Plume was given by the John Paul Lumber Company and 
the C. L. Colman Lumber Company. 

GRANDAD BLUFF PROPERTY 
This property was acquired by Ellen J. Hixon who was en- 
couraged thereto by the interest taken and the subscriptions of the 
following persons: 

DR. EDW. EVANS B. E. EDWARDS 

ELSIE GILE SCOTT E. E. BENTLEY 

GEO. ZEISLER MRS. G. VAN STEENWYK 

EUGENE PERKINS PAUL BROTHERS 

H. J. HIRSHHEIMER GEO. H. GORDON 

J. B. FUNKE FORREST J. SMITH 

R. E. OSBORNE COLMAN BROTHERS 

HENRY GUND L. F. EASTON 

F. A. COPELAND SMITH MFG. CO. 

G. HEILEMAN BREWING CO. ELLIOT & LOEFFLER CO. 

LA CROSSE WATER POWER CO. 

Respectfully, 

J. M. HIXON, 

President Park Commission. 




CITY PARK SYSTEM FOR LA CROSSE 

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